Theatre in Education
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Theatre in Education or Applied Drama is the act of using drama in the classroom to teach a specific task or social issue. This doesn't necessarily have to take place on a stage or in a classroom. TIE, as it is commonly called, can happen anywhere.
You can often see zoos, museums, prisons, juvenile detentions centers, even hospitals use drama as a way to teach people about a particular subject. Being a former drama educator, I am passionate about using drama as a medium to teach skills. I was taught many life skills through drama that have become useful in my current career path. I learned public speaking, posture, writing skills, story telling and how to engage an audience. All important skills in many professional fields outside of the theatre world.
In Hong Kong, many schools are using drama as a medium to teach English to students. This is a fun way to get them to practice their oral speaking skills. They can do improv for every day scenarios like buying things at the grocery store or asking for directions, or they can work on more complex ideas for story telling projects.
Drama games are a big part of Theatre in Education. This is sometimes a hard thing for traditional teachers to get their heads around. They're just having fun, how are they learning anything?! There are three types of learning: visual, audio, and kinetic learners. If you can 2 to 3 of these at once you are more likely to have this information stick in the students' head. Being a kinetic learner myself, I always struggled sitting and listening to someone spout a bunch of information at me. But if they give me a perimeter and ask me to do it on my own, I do well. This is why subjects like Math and History were always really bad for me because they involved large periods of someone talking to me like the teacher in Charlie Brown. What kind of learner are you? If you have kids, do you know how they learn best? This is good information to know... You can find out more information on different styles (and theories) of learning here.
There are different drama games for different needs in students. Some help with teamwork and trust issues which are big issues when you teach with groups who are special needs or are in juvenile detention centers. Some games help with memory or writing skills. Some help with creativity. There are great online sources for drama games. Check them out or go to the Bible for all things drama games by Viola Spolin.
Another way of bringing drama into a subject is by taking your students to see a production of a book they are reading in class. I can remember seeing a deaf integrated production of Tom Sawyer when I was in middle school reading Mark Twain for the first time. It was a great show and I can still remember a lot of details about this book because of the field trip. I'm curious what books Hong Kong kids are required to read now in schools. Would love to hear them, so leave a comment below! Maybe they'll give me some ideas for future shows to produce...
Of course, this is just a brief intro of all the wonderful things drama can do to help make learning fun. If you're a teacher and you have any questions or would like some ideas on integrating drama into your classroom don't hesitate to ask. I'm an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to games and I'm happy to help. You can use TIE in any subject including Science and Math! Don't be afraid to push those desks aside and get those kids moving. Active learning is an excellent way to make a boring lesson memorable.
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23 August 2017